Anonymous
7/6/2025, 10:46:04 AM No.126944774
There is a trick used by 90% of the bigger touring bands at the moment called the “click track”.
It became possible when bands stopped using floor monitors to hear themselves and instead started using in-ear monitors. The great thing about these (known as IEMs) is that only the band members can hear what is going through them, as opposed to floor monitors which could be heard by the front few rows of the audience. When only the band could hear what was going though their earpieces, it was possible to put anything you like through there.
What bands now hear is the same monitor mix that they used to hear (so they can hear every member of the band plus themselves a little louder) plus a “click”. This does what it says on the tin and goes “click click click” in time with pre-recorded instruments and voices allowing the live music to mix in perfectly with pre-recorded tracks.
Why do they do this? In a studio your guitarist can put down an accoustic guitar track, then overdub an electric rhythm guitar track, then add a lead guitar track. That one person can only play one of them at a time so has to choose which to play live on stage. What happens to the other 2 guitar tracks? You either have to take on another couple of guitarists who only play the concerts or you can just add the other tracks on with the click track. Same with your keyboard player: he played a piano track, an organ track and 3 synths on the recording, so plays one of those live and the others are on with the click. Maybe you thought it would be nice to blow the recording budget on a small orchestra. No way can you afford to carry them around the country with you, feed them every day, put them in hotels every night, but you can put their recording on with the click.
Nowadays they try to hide the click tracks so it looks like it’s all live. Most of the time it’s not. So is it fake? Yes, they are certainly trying to make you think it’s 100% live when it’s not.
It became possible when bands stopped using floor monitors to hear themselves and instead started using in-ear monitors. The great thing about these (known as IEMs) is that only the band members can hear what is going through them, as opposed to floor monitors which could be heard by the front few rows of the audience. When only the band could hear what was going though their earpieces, it was possible to put anything you like through there.
What bands now hear is the same monitor mix that they used to hear (so they can hear every member of the band plus themselves a little louder) plus a “click”. This does what it says on the tin and goes “click click click” in time with pre-recorded instruments and voices allowing the live music to mix in perfectly with pre-recorded tracks.
Why do they do this? In a studio your guitarist can put down an accoustic guitar track, then overdub an electric rhythm guitar track, then add a lead guitar track. That one person can only play one of them at a time so has to choose which to play live on stage. What happens to the other 2 guitar tracks? You either have to take on another couple of guitarists who only play the concerts or you can just add the other tracks on with the click track. Same with your keyboard player: he played a piano track, an organ track and 3 synths on the recording, so plays one of those live and the others are on with the click. Maybe you thought it would be nice to blow the recording budget on a small orchestra. No way can you afford to carry them around the country with you, feed them every day, put them in hotels every night, but you can put their recording on with the click.
Nowadays they try to hide the click tracks so it looks like it’s all live. Most of the time it’s not. So is it fake? Yes, they are certainly trying to make you think it’s 100% live when it’s not.
Replies:
